The present invention relates to an optical pickup apparatus for use preferably in an optical video disk player, a compact disk player, an optical disk apparatus, or the like. According to the present invention, the optical detector is fixed on the first block, and the first block is supported by the second block. The second block is arranged to be movable for adjustment in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of light to be detected, and the first block is arranged to be movable for adjustment relative to the second block along the optical axis.
FIG. 1 shows an arrangement of an optical detector in the conventional optical pickup apparatus. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 designates a condenser lens for converging light radiated upon a recording medium such as a disk or the like and reflected therefrom. The light converged by the condenser lens 1 is made to be incident onto an optical detector 3 such as a photodiode or the like. Lead frames 4 are attached to a molding 2 of the optical detector 3, and the output of the optical detector is read through bonding wires 7 (FIG. 3) and the lead frames 4. The reference numeral 5 designates a flexible substrate (including coated lead wires and the like ) with its one end connected to the lead frames 4 and the other end connected to a fixed relay substrate (not shown and including a circuit substrate). Thus, the output of the optical detector 3 is externally derived from the relay substrate.
In assembling, in order to make the center of the optical detector 3 coincident with the optical axis of the condenser lens 1, a fixing member (not shown) on which the optical detector 3 (the molding 2) is fixed is moved so as to be adjusted in the xy-plane perpendicular to the optical axis. After completion of the adjustment, the fixing member (the optical detector 3) is fixed on a supporting member 6. Thereafter, furthermore, the condenser lens 1 is moved for adjustment along the optical axis (the z-axis) thereof so as to form a suitable light spot on the optical detector 3. Alternatively, the adjustment along optical axis is performed by moving the supporting member 6 along the optical axis while guiding the supporting member 6 by a guide member 8 as shown in FIG. 2. The flexible substrate 5 which can be freely changed in shape is used so as to perform such movement for adjustment.
After completion of the adjustment, the condenser lens 1, the supporting member 6, and the like are fixed at predetermined positions with an adhesive or the like.
As described above, in the conventional apparatus, the molding 2 from which the lead frames 4 are projected so as to be connected at their one ends to the flexible substrate 5, is fixed to a predetermined fixing member which is arranged to be movable for adjustment in the xy-plane and to be movable for adjustment in the z-direction together with the supporting member 6. Therefore, the conventional apparatus has a disadvantage in that the fixing member, that is, the supporting member 6 cannot be reduced in shape, and therefore it is difficult to reduce the whole apparatus in size.